Make Space Program Top Priority

May 6, 1986

THE EXPLOSION of a Delta rocket Saturday shortly after being launched from Cape Canaveral leaves no doubt that Congress and the administration must make fixing the space program one of their top priorities.

The Challenger tragedy on Jan. 28, and the subsequent revelations of NASA mismanagement, sent the space program reeling. The loss last month of an Air Force Titan carrying a spy satellite dealt it another severe blow. With the loss of the Delta, which carried a $57.5 million weather satellite, the space program`s troubles escalated to crisis proportions.

The nation currently has four types of launch vehicles. Three have failed so far this year and the programs have been put on hold. An antiquated Atlas- Centaur is poised for a May 22 liftoff, and failure there would mean the United States space program would be completely grounded.

The ramifications of the space crisis are far-reaching. Currently, the United States has only one weather satellite in place, and this will hurt forcasting. The military is justifiably worried about the national security implications of not being able to reliably put spy satellites into orbit. In the competition with other countries for the commercial satellite launching business, which helps the space program pay its own way, the United States has been crippled.

A decade ago, NASA made a policy decision to rely on a space shuttle as its method of launching satellites. As a result, it did not pursue the development of an expendable launch vehicle. Those in use today are using technology that is a quarter century old.

The space mandate is now clear: Develop a new and efficient expendable launch vehicle and get the shuttle back on track. This will require a singleness of purpose in NASA and a major commitment of time and money by Congress and its space-related committees.